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What is The G3 Method?

The G3Method is a balance of the Scientific Method and personal philosophies that drive the way G3SoilWorks uncovers the truth and approaches solutions for projects. In the last 5 years, this philosophy has been indoctrinated into each project G3 touches, with impressive results.

Philosophies Behind the G3 Method

While Taoism and Bruce Lee aren’t commonly paired with The Scientific Method, this unconventional blend is G3’s proverbial “secret sauce” for success. Sitting in a room with Larry and Steve, you will often hear them refer to The Blind Men and the Elephant or The Cup of Tea when explaining why G3 is able to solve complicated problems for their clients. In the story of The Blind Men and the Elephant, Buddha asks four blind men to describe what an elephant “looks like.” Each man describes the elephant based on what little information they had, with one man touching the tail and explaining that the elephant looked like a rope. The story symbolizes the danger in coming to a conclusion with very little information.

In The Cup of Tea a professor comes to learn from a guru. The guru pours tea into the professor’s cup until it overflows. When the professor protests, the guru explains that like the cup, the professor is too full to receive more, symbolizing the importance of removing opinions and speculations in order to be open for new knowledge. The stories are simple, but they allude to one universal core truth; that being open to learning information and approaching a problem without a preconceived solution allows a person to seek the truth.

The Taoist philosophy of Bruce Lee, “no way as way, having no limitation as limitation,” encourages followers to be in the moment in order to remain open to options and prevent yourself from limiting possibilities. Though it may seem conflicting to join philosophy with science, these methods of thinking complement the Scientific Method of observation, measurement, experimentation, and the creating and testing of hypotheses. Understanding how these elements contribute to G3’s Method helps clients and peers to understand the 3 “G”s of G3.

The 3 “G”s of G3

• Gather. As shown in the stories of The Blind Men and the Elephant or The Cup of Tea, as well as the Scientific Method, open-minded gathering of as much existing information as possible is the most effective (and often only) way to find solutions to difficult problems. In a past Geoforensic project, G3 was hired to find a solution to a problem that had not been answered by 9 other firms. G3 solved the issue by putting aside current “evidence” and hypotheses and beginning with fresh, unbiased research.

• Gauge. The next step G3 follows is gauging and arranging information found. After analyzing the data, G3 develops a working hypothesis for engineering principles, risk, and mitigation.

• Go. Finally, following the Scientific Method, G3 tests their hypothesis, makes adjustments, and repeats their hypothesis’ until the evidence is proven.

G3 team members are encouraged to continue learning all different aspects of the industry, beyond their specialty. What sets G3 apart from other firms is their desire to share what they’ve learned with other firms, geologists, engineers, and technicians. Their aim is to continue improving the way the industry approaches problems and finds solutions.